The harsh reality Portsmouth are addressing ahead of Championship return against Leeds United, Burnley, Sheffield United & Co

The Blues coaching staff have seen the challenge on the horizon and are making plans to be ready for the obstacles it presents.

Because this winning team John Mousinho has established at Fratton Park will likely have to get used to losing a lot more next season.

That’s less defeatism and more the reality of making a huge step up in quality, as Pompey go out to battle in a second tier awash with quality next month.

The start to the season underlines that, as Mousinho’s side follow up an opening-day trip to Leeds with clashes against the three teams relegated from the Premier League in the first seven fixtures.

Pompey are confident about establishing themselves in the Championship, but by the same token know the winning feeling experienced on the way to League One title success is unlikely to be repeated.

The Blues lost five of 46 league games last term, experiencing approximately one loss in 10 games - while it’s nine defeats in 69 league outings since Mousinho’s January 2023 arrival.

What lies ahead will likely present some psychological challenges for Pompey - something the coaching staff are not blind to.

Mousinho said: ‘We’ve got to make sure we deal with that (the prospect of losing more games).

‘It didn’t happen too often last season, but did at points, five times in the league I think.

‘We had to make sure that whenever he did lose games, draw games or didn’t get the result that we wanted we were resilient and bounced back.

‘The beauty of the Football League schedule is it’s non-stop. Unless you get one of those losses before an international break, it’s very, very likely you’ve got a quick turnaround coming up a Tuesday or Saturday.

‘That was a really, really important part of last season. I remember losing to Blackpool at home on the Saturday 4-0, but it was brilliant because then we had Burton away on the Tuesday night.

‘We got to get on with it straightaway and didn’t really have much time to work on anything at the training ground - but in terms of getting the loss out of the system we did it.

‘We’re just going to have to stay level-headed and do the right things. As long as we’re assured in our convictions and everything we want to do on and off the pitch, I’m sure we’ll be fine.’